Saturday, May 1, 2010

Golden Anniversary Reunion

For part of Snow White's 50th anniversary the theme parks (Disneyland and Magic Kingdom) held a reunion of the actresses who had played the character in the theme parks. By 1987 over a hundred women had portrayed Disney's first princess.  Fifty came to the event at Disneyland and 24 were present at the Magic Kingdom. 
The first Snow White in the park was actually not a Disneyland employee; she worked for ABC.  Disney had been able to track down the other ladies that portrayed the princess by using personnel records but it was not until a friend of the first Snow White heard about the search that JoAnn Killingsworth became part of the event.  She portrayed Snow White on opening day and appeared in Dateline: Disneyland, the opening day TV special.  By 1987 she was 63 and working in a Neiman-Marcus in Newport Beach.
Naturally, the heartwarming story of Beth Bond was popular with the press.  Snow White in 1978, she married her Prince in 1985, literally.  Her husband, Joe Sczempka, played Prince in the park. 
Herald-Journal, The Courier, Ancorage Daily News, and The Bulletin all ran articles covering the event.  For information about other various women who have brought Snow White to life in a variety of ways read this article on Mouse Planet.

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